All That Mattered
by Muse of Fanfiction
Summary: Hades ponders about what truly matters in his marriage to Persephone. A Hades & Persephone one-shot.


_**All That Mattered**_

"_You should fear me. I rule over death and you carry life."_

"_I do not care. I love you, with all of my heart. But do you love me?"_

"_Always. __I will never stop."_

"_Then we love each other, and that's all that mattered."_

From where he stood near the hearth, Hades gazed lovingly at the beautiful sleeping figure on his huge bed.

Persephone, his lovely and loving wife and queen, was sleeping soundly, lying unclothed underneath the dark maroon sheets with her head rested upon the mass of dark-colored silk pillows, her long and wavy russet hair forming a dark halo around her heart-shaped face.

She had just returned to the Underworld a few hours prior, ready to fulfill his part of the pomegranate agreement and spend six months with him in his underground kingdom. After the welcoming ceremony was finished, which always involved a small banquet and the other Underworld deities welcoming their earthly queen back home, the both of them finally succumbed to the fiery passion that fueled their love for each other in their bedchambers.

They made love several times, with each time being better than the last, before Persephone finally succumbed to the seduction of sleep in the protecting and comforting arms of her husband. Hades remained awake and gently and quietly slid out of bed, putting on a pair of sleeping trousers before coming to where he stood now.

He loved to look at his wife after they made love. He loved to admire the faint blush that managed to remain on her cheeks. He loved to gaze at the peachy color of her skin, which he knew would turn as pale as cream as her time in the Underworld went on. He loved to listen to her soft breathing as she slept. He loved to drink up the image of her perfect soft and willowy body underneath his sheets. He loved to inhale the sweet and divine perfume that she had left permeated on his skin when their bodies had been pressed against each other. He loved to remember how she had begged for him, how she had moaned for him, and how she had come for him.

He was glad that she loved him as much as he loved her, but knew that it wasn't agreed by some.

Hades knew of the gossip regarding them. It would always be about how the God of the Dead and the Goddess of Spring were the most unlikely couple. He will admit that he and Persephone was in fact quite an unlikely couple, because he ruled over death and she held life in her form. They were the complete opposite of each other. He was dark and brooding, she was bright and cheerful. He was one of the major deities of the universe, alongside the Twelve Olympians and Hestia, and she was just a minor goddess.

But yet, despite the criticizing speculation of gossipers, they still managed to fall truly in love with other. They did not care that they were different from each other. They did not care that they seemed incompatible together. They loved each other, and nothing else can change that.

Hades had never been with any women before Persephone, but he knew that he did not need any other women when he had her. He was not like Zeus or Poseidon, who were both married to beautiful women but yet so easily succumbed to their ravenous and never-ending lust and chase after the skirts of other females without feeling even a tiny hint of shame or guilt.

Hades did not aspire to be a philanderer like his younger brothers. He did not aspire to chuck aside his morals and values and be a perverted skirt-chaser who only had sex on his mind. Instead, he aspired to be a stern but just king, to rule over his kingdom properly and, most importantly, be a good husband to Persephone.

She was innocence and goodness, and he did not want to break her by betraying her for another.

Many find this thought funny. Hades was reputed to be a cruel and merciless god among the mortals while Zeus and Poseidon were the symbols of virtue. But in actuality, it was quite the opposite.

Few agreed, but one good example of someone who did not was, of course, Demeter.

She now thought of him as a monster for taking Persephone away from her.

Hades sighed as he remembered that the consequence of Persephone being with him now was that the world above would be plunged into the frost months – known now as 'autumn' and 'winter' - due to Demeter's grief. The Harvest Goddess would be consumed with absolute sadness in her heart as she pined for the return of her daughter. As a result, she would be too upset to let anything on the Earth grow.

During the six frost months, Demeter would be so consumed with thoughts of Persephone being hurt by his hands, and her already-existing hatred for him would grow even more. She would curse his name and his realm. She would scream about how Persephone did not deserve to be wed to a 'ruthless beast' like him.

But why could she not see that what she thought and screamed of were not true? Persephone was happy with him and she was comfortable in the Underworld. She still smiled and laughed and sang and danced here, usually in the Elysian Fields, while she still ruled the kingdom by his side.

Most importantly, Hades would _never_ hurt her. May he be sentenced to the same sort of punishment as Atlas or Prometheus if he ever hurt her. Persephone was too precious to him and he cherished her with all of his heart and his entire soul.

If only could Demeter could stop being so wrapped up in those poisonous thoughts and see for herself that whatever she thought was true was actually false. If only she would see that Persephone was happy. If only she would accept her marriage to Hades. If only she would let Persephone go and be independent.

If only those could have happened from the beginning, but Hades had never stopped hoping that sometime in the future, be it near or far, maybe it will.

But that didn't matter now.

"Love? Is there something bothering you?"

Hades looked away from the orange fire in the hearth and turned around to face Persephone, who was slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes with one hand while the other hand held the silk maroon blanket to her chest.

"Why are you standing in front of the hearth?" she asked in a still-sleepy voice. "Is something wrong?"

Hades gave her a small smile and shook his head. "Nothing, heart's dearest. I was merely cold, that's all. I thought that maybe standing near the fire could give me some warmth."

Suddenly, a playful grin played on her rosy lips and she batted her eyelashes at him. As she slowly inched the sheet away from her form suggestively, she purred seductively, "Perhaps I can offer you a better way to warm yourself up…"

And then, she lifted a hand and crooked her finger at him, silently beckoning to him with her eyes to come back to bed.

Hades did not hesitate to grin back just as lustfully and immediately returned to the bed, back into Persephone's warm embrace. It only took a few seconds for him to take his trousers off, with help from her, before his growling and her mewling sounded from under the sheets.

As he made love to her once more, Hades decided that all those problems and speculations that came with their marriage did not matter to him so much after all.

All that mattered was that he loved her and she loved him.

That was all that mattered.

* * *

Author's Note:

Alright. Hope you enjoyed that little one-shot. It's been a while since I've posted some Hades and Persephone fics, so I thought that this would do. Maybe after finishing Promises, I'll come up with another big project about the beloved couple.

So once again, thank you for reading. Maybe leave a review before you go? :)

_Muse of Fanfiction_


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